Eurovision Song Contest attracts 204 million viewers!

Contributors

Et

Eurovision.tv

Posted 24 May, 2016, 8:00

The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest was seen by more than 200 million viewers. The 3 live shows from Stockholm, Sweden on 10th, 12th and 14th May reached 204 million people across 42 markets – 5 million more than in 2015. According to the latest data, the 2016 Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest achieved, on average, an audience share of 36.3% across 40 markets - more than double the average prime-time viewing share for the same group of channels (15.7%).

“We are thrilled that the Eurovision Song Contest continues to grow its audience and now reaches over 200 million people around the world,” said the EBU’s Director General Ingrid Deltenre.

“This year’s excellent co-production with EBU Member Sveriges Television (SVT) has once again shown that audiences can turn to public service media for high quality, unique entertainment. 60 years after the first Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano, we couldn’t be prouder that this event still has the power to unite viewers of all ages around the world.”

Host country Sweden delivered its largest audience since 2000 when the Globe Arena also hosted the event. 3.6 million viewers tuned in for the 2016 spectacular, accounting for 84.7% of Swedish TV viewing on May 14.

Iceland once again delivered the largest viewing share of all 42 countries (95.3%). Despite its entry not making it to the final for a second consecutive year, 95.3% of those watching TV in the country saw the Grand Final.

Winning country Ukraine delivered its highest viewing figures for the Eurovision Song Contest since 2010, with 1.5 million viewers watching the Grand Final.

The winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest - Jamala

Germany might have finished the Grand Final with the lowest number of points but delivered the highest number of viewers and its largest audience since hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011. This year 9.3 million viewers watched, accounting for 36.8% of German TV viewing.

EBU Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand oversaw the production in Stockholm: “I warmly congratulate SVT on producing 3 spectacular live shows that captivated millions of viewers,” he said. “It was a pleasure to work so closely with their team who totally raised the bar both creatively and technologically and made the 61th Eurovision Song Contest an unforgettable experience for viewers across the globe. We now look forward to building on their great work with next year’s hosts NTU in Ukraine.”

The Eurovision Song Contest was hugely popular too with hard-to-reach younger audiences. On average 42.4 % of 15-24 year olds watching TV in 40 countries saw the Grand Final - more than 4 times the average prime-time viewing share of young adults for the same group of channels (10.4%).

Online audiences around the globe also tuned into the Eurovision Song Contest in huge numbers. There were 2.6 million live streaming sessions in 196 territories across the three shows on Eurovision.tv and YouTube and a total of 5.3 million on-demand requests.

The Grand Final of the 61st Eurovision Song Contest was also broadcast by 20 EBU Radio Members.